Vampire to Wolf
by blacknitdragon
Summary: Life always sucked for Vladimir Tod, but now with his best friend leaving him who is he to turn to for help? Otis is gone and Nelly can't help against the evil vampire tyrant D'Ablo. Then one day he found a wolf in his backyard. Has his prays been answered?
1. Meeting

**Title**: Vampire to Wolf

**Fandom**: Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

**Rating**: T/15+ (may end up changing later one)

**Genre**: Supernatural/Friendship

**Summary: **Life always sucked for Vladimir Tod, but now with his best friend leaving him who is he to turn to for help? Otis is gone and Nelly can't help against the evil vampire tyrant D'Ablo. Then one day he found a wolf in his backyard. Has his prays been answered?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the characters of this series, but I do have ownership over at least two characters that are introduced in this chapter, a wolf named Julian and his human master

**Warning**: there is a lot of language and violence, and there may be some missed spelled words and context within the story

* * *

_**Chapter One: Meeting**_

* * *

_Which way? Which way? _– thought Julian, his tongue lolling out to absorb the coolness of the air, as he tried to push forward to escape the creature. But his broken hind leg wasn't helping his momentum, and the fact that he had no idea where he was going in this damp forest didn't help much either.

His eyes swept franticly around his surroundings, checking through the darkness for the bloodsucking beast in human form, before leaping out through a near by bush, only to land right in the middle of the street. Looking over his shoulder, Julian noticed the beast glaring as saliva dripped from his fangs before he was gone, both the sight and scent of him. But Julian's train of thought was ceased when he heard a noise.

Turning his head to look down the road, Julian then noticed two bright lights heading straight for him.

Due to his broken leg, Julian had no time to move out the way, so he closed his eyes tightly and waited for what was to come. Was this the end for him? Then all he knew was darkness.

….

_Snapping his head up with his eyes wide open, Julian found himself under his master's work desk, where he usually took his naps by his master Charles's feet. But Charles wasn't there. It didn't seem to surprise Julian. After all, it's been so many years since he last saw his master. Charles was… wait, was what? Why couldn't he remember?_

_Shaking away his confusion, he uncoiled his body, stretching his upper half as he yawned, letting his tongue loll out of his mouth. After he shook his body, ruffling his tangled, soft black coat of fur, he made his way out from under the desk and of Charles's study to the smell of beacon, roaming the house from the kitchen downstairs._

_Padding his way into the kitchen, Julian was greeted with the warm smile of Charles. "Hey, boy, looks like you're up," grinned Charles as he scratched behind Julian's ear causing the black wolf's tail to happily sway behind him. "You hungry, Jules?"_

_Julian jumped up onto his hind legs, placing his front paws on Charles's chest, and started to sweep his tongue franticly over his master's face causing Charles to laugh. Strange though, Julian couldn't help it, but he felt as if something was off… again. But what he didn't know._

_Blinking in confusion, his eyes met Charles's, who was holding a piece of beacon out for him. But Julian didn't take it like he would normally do. Instead he dropped down to all fours, suddenly realizing what was wrong. Charles was dead. He was killed, and Julian was left alone living on the street like a common stray. None of this was real._

"_What's wrong? You okay, Julian?" asked Charles, his voice filled with concern. Charles crouched down in front of Julian, worry written all over his face and in his eyes._

_It's not real – thought Julian, taking a few steps back. "It's not real!" he barked._

_And then everything before him vanished in a blink of an eye. _

….

Slamming his pillow into his face, Vlad let out another sorrow filled sigh. He just didn't know what to do anymore; school, bullies, seeing his girlfriend Meredith as food instead of as a person, Eddie being a stalker, and Henry not wanting to neither be his friend nor drudge anymore. It was just too much stress for him to be dealing with. And to top things off, D'Ablo sending those hellish nightmares every time he went to sleep.

What else could go wrong? Nelly suddenly not wanting anything to do with him anymore, either.

Tossing his pillow at the foot of his bed, Vlad sat up and was just about to lean over the edge of his bed to grab a pair of jeans on the floor when he felt something. It was different from the presence of a vampire, so he relaxed some, but not by much.

After pulling on a pair of jeans from the floor, Vlad made his way down the stairs and out the backdoor. Once he was outside, the smell of blood struck his senses hard causing his fangs to slide out of his gums. It smelled strange, though. It smelled off, but still… mouthwatering.

He then noticed the drops of blood staining the grass, creating a trail toward the bushes, and that's when he saw a long, bushy tail. _Some kind of dog?_

Making his way across the yard, he found the scent of the blood smelling almost like the blood wine he had back in Siberia. Crouching down to the ground, Vlad made a reach for the tail, but before he could even touch it the animal's teeth was buried deep in his hand and wrist. With shaking realization, Vlad knew what the creature was.

The large black wolf's eyes, which were the color of the morning sky, glared straight into Vlad's dark ones. What Vlad saw in the wolf's eyes made his heart squeeze. Fear. It was scared.

Trying not to wince from the pain, though he was doing a horrible job, Vlad smiled at the wolf. "Hey, big guy, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe." Vlad kept rambling on and on, trying to calm the wolf. And when he finally felt the pressure gone off his hand he sighed in relief. But soon froze when he felt the wolf's head nuzzle his injured hand before lying its head down on his lap.

Now that the wolf was no longer hiding in the bushes, Vlad noticed that its beautiful, tangled black pelt was covered in its blood and that both of its hind legs appeared to be broken. He couldn't be sure since he wasn't an animal expert nor did he know anything about wolves.

Wrapping an arm under the wolf's front legs and around its stomach, Vlad slowly stood taking the wolf with him, having its back legs hang limply below. The wolf whimpered, but otherwise didn't protest nor tried to attack Vlad. It was calm and allowed Vlad to take him inside.

* * *

**The End**


	2. Feeling Whole Again

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the characters of this series, but I do have ownership over at least two characters that are introduced in this story, a wolf named Julian and his human master

**Warning**: there is a lot of language and violence, and there may be some missed spelled words and context

* * *

_**Chapter Two: Feeling Whole Again**_

* * *

_Curling back his lips, Julian bared his sharp teeth at the creature in front of him as he growled. He knew that this creature, clad in human wasn't something normal. He smelt of blood and death. This being was something far from human, noted the wolf. It was something unnatural, something foul that shouldn't exist. But all that didn't matter to Julian the only thing he knew was he had to protect his master._

_Julian stood his ground, blocking out the scent of Charles's blood. "A wolf?" questioned the bloodsucker, brushing the specks of blood from his lower lip with his thump. "No, not just a wolf, but…" The creature then burst out laughing. His laugh angered the wolf, almost as much as the fact that he had attacked his master._

_"I can't believe you, Charles," smirked the bloodsucker, taking a step forward causing Julian to hunch his upper body as he angled his teeth for the creature's throat. "I thought werewolves died off three-hundred years ago, but it looks like you found one and raised it as a pet."_

_The then died in Julian's throat as he stared at the pale creature before. He wasn't a werewolf, whatever the hell that was, he was a young wolf that was raised by Charles. If it wasn't for the human Julian probably wouldn't even be alive for he was abandoned as a young pup._

_He was grateful to Charles. He was his master, his father, and friend._

_"Your pet's mind is so full of confusion he doesn't know what's what anymore! Don't tell me you raised him without even telling him what he is, Charles!" laughed the bloodsucker._

_Julian shook away his confusion and leapt at the man, his jaws wide and aiming for the beast's throat. It would be an instant kill… or so he thought when the creature suddenly vanished. Then the next thing Julian knew he was thrown aside, his back hitting the sharp corner of the counter before he found himself on the kitchen floor. He heard the laugh of the bloodsucker and the call of Charles's voice… and then nothing._

….

Snapping his head up with his eyes wide open, Julian found himself staring at a white wall as he tried to calm his frantic beating heart and control his heavy and uneven breathing. He had another dream about Charles again... another painful nightmare. Shaking his head to clear his mind, Julian noticed that he was in some kind room. It wasn't something expected; actually he didn't know what he was expecting. Maybe his body to be flat against the pavement. Come to think of it, how did he get here? The last thing Julian remembered was a care heading straighter for him and that was that.

Everything else was just a haze or a blurry dream of some kind.

Hearing a slight moan on the other side of him, Julian turned his head and found himself staring into the face of a young teenage boy. Was this the person who saved him? Getting a closer look at the boy, he found the boy was pale… almost as pale as those bloodsuckers. Julian had to admit he was handsome, too, with his dark hair falling into his face as he slept.

Lightly touching his wet nose against the boy's cheek, Julian noticed a strange smell coming from the boy. He smelled different from any human Julian had ever had the chance to come across, but his smell was also different from those bloodsuckers. His smell was sweet and filled with spices. He smelled the same way as Charles, only different.

The boy moaned once more, moving away from Julian's wet nose, as he threw his arm around Julian's torso. But before his hand disappeared from Julian's line of vision the wolf noticed it was wrapped in bandages and smelled slightly of blood. Then that night where he bit a human wasn't a dream? Then that meant this boy had saved him and took care of him.

Suddenly the smell of beacon and toast filled the room, and Julian noticed there was another smell mixed in. Blood? The next thing he knew was that the boy he was watching sat up in a quick movement that caused the bed to move and pain to shoot through Julian's broken hind legs. At hearing his whimper, the boy stared at him as if he couldn't remember why there was a wolf in his bed.

Then it seemed to click in, after a few seconds. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" he asked, but then smacked himself in the forehead with his palm. "Right, wolves don't talk. Dude, how could forget I that of all things? Am I that lonely now?"

Julian tilted his head to the side before bringing his tongue out to lick the boy's cheek. He watched as the boy's expression changed and there was a smile placed upon his lips. He looked better with a smile on his face than that worried expression he wore when he was treating Julian. The boy's smile made the wolf happy to the point Julian felt his tail tapping against the bed from underneath the covers.

"You hungry?" asked the boy, climbing over him carefully and out of the bed. "We don't have any dog food and I doubt you want to eat Amenti's cat food." At the mere mention of cat food Julian shook his head and barked with disgust. The boy seemed to have understood him because he laughed and ruffled up Julian's fur on his head.

The boy smiled before turning to leave the room, but just before he left he looked back over his shoulder at Julian who stared at him with sparkling eyes as if begging him to bring him some beacon. "I'll be right back with some food," and as if he read Julian's mind the boy smiled and continued, "hopefully with some beacon."

Julian barked and wagged his tail in approval causing the boy to chuckle before disappearing somewhere down the hall. _Please let him bring me some beacon. _It had been four years since Charles's death that Julian had a real meal that didn't consist of people's trash. And Julian had to admit that he liked this boy a lot, though he had no idea what his name was.

Laying his head down on the pillow, Julian exhaled a small breath from his nose. Would he be able to stay here with that boy or would he be kicked to the curb for being an animal that belonged to the wild? He didn't want to be left alone again, but if had no choice then it couldn't be helped. But, even though he just met this boy, Julian felt a connection to his savior.

Julian knew that no one would be able to replace Charles, but he felt that this boy would be someone that could be as special to him as Charles.

"Thanks, Nelly," said the boy's voice as he climbed the stairs, and as his steps got closer Julian could smell the mouthwatering scent of beacon causing Julian to lift up his head and his tail to wag. "Vlad, I don't want to make this a habit to give him people food when he should be eating something like dog food," called a woman's voice, most likely the person the boy called Nelly.

Vlad entered the room with a plate of beacon and a smile on his face. "Breakfast is served my friend." He made his way over to the bed and sat on the floor by the bed, hanging the plate out toward Julian. Julian only took a few whiffs of the beacon before he started to scarf it down.

"Slow down we don't want you to choke," Vlad chuckled at Julian as he started to lick the plate clean. "Hmm… I wonder what I should call you."

Julian glanced up at Vlad before lifting his head further up to reveal his black collar that held his licenses and name on the tags. Vlad then seemed to notice them. The boy looked at his tags and stared at them for awhile. "Julian? Hmm… so you have an owner?"

Julian wanted to tell the boy he didn't. His master died, was killed by a bloodsucker. But that would've been weird. Vlad probably would've fainted at the fact that a wolf could talk. If only he could. He didn't want to be given away to some place to wait for his owner to show up. The only way that would've happened was if Charles had become a zombie of some sort.

"I guess we'll have to call and see about your owner, now won't we, Julian," smiled Vlad, ruffling Julian's black fur before scratching behind his ear. Charles used to do the same thing. Being with this boy was like being with Charles, noted Julian.

Vlad stood to his feet, taking the plate with him. "Well, I gotta get ready for school, but don't worry I'll make sure to bring you some food and water since you can't move with those legs." With that the boy was gone back downstairs.

Laying his head back down on the pillow, Julian sent out a silent whimper to the boy. He didn't want to be left alone. Of course, he had the boy's guardian Nelly to watch over him. But still he couldn't help it. He finally found a connection to someone, someone who was like his master Charles. This boy could very well be his new master.

….

Placing the plate in the sink, Vlad turned towards Nelly as she was getting ready to leave for work. He felt sorry for her since she didn't get much sleep last night due to helping him take care of the wolf… Julian. But she didn't seem to regret helping at all. If only she knew that the wolf… Julian wasn't just some wild animal, but actually someone's pet.

Vlad even wanted to let Henry know what was going on, but remembered that Henry was still not on speaking terms with him. He was no longer Vlad's best friend, he was a stranger, though still his drudge. Even though Henry hated Vlad's guts now, Vlad couldn't find it in his heart to go straight up to Henry and bit him in order to release him as his drudge. It was the only connection that he had left with Henry.

"Make sure that he has food and water and keep Amenti out of your room. I don't want that wolf eating my cat," said Nelly, kissing Vlad on his cheek. "And don't miss any school." And with her last words she left out the door, heading for work.

Vlad knew that Nelly wasn't going to keep a wolf in her house, and a full grown wolf at that. But Vlad didn't want Julian to go. After Henry left the only friends he was able to make were with the goth kids at his school. Yeah, they were pretty okay. But meeting Julian closed the hole he was feeling from Henry's departure. Julian was a wolf with no knowledge of being a wild animal due to him being a pet, but Vlad couldn't help but feel this connection.

Grabbing two bowls from one of the cupboards, Vlad filled one with water and the other with some left over beacon before making his way upstairs. In his room, he found the wolf with his head lying on his pillow asleep. Or at least he looked to be asleep. "Julian?" he called quietly and was answered by the thump of the wolf's tail under the covers.

Julian lifted up his head and stared at Vlad. The look in his eyes made Vlad wince slightly. Though the wolf was wagging his tail, the look in his eyes begged Vlad not to leave him alone.

The same feeling Vlad had been feeling for a while now, though he never showed it. He never showed anyone how lonely he felt since Henry declared that he didn't want to be around him. He acted like it never affected him. Though Vlad was hurt by the fact that Henry chose be with Chelsea and the others at the popular table. He chose them over Vlad because he was sick of Vlad and he had more in common with them because they were human… and Vlad was only half.

Smiling, Vlad placed the bows on the bed next to Julian before ruffling the fur on the wolf's head and leaving the room, grabbing his backpack. He wanted to stay and keep Julian company, but he had to go to school whether he liked it or not.

….

Dropping all his things in his locker, Vlad made his way to Health Class. His least favorite class of the day. Actually he didn't like any of his classes. He didn't share any with his girlfriend or his… ex-best friend Henry. At first he did care about that, but now Vlad wasn't so sure he wanted to have any classes with Henry.

Vlad then heard a giggle behind him, and out of curiosity, decided to look over his shoulder causing his heart to sink. Just down the hall was Henry flirting with Chelsea, one of the people who thought of Vlad as a freak and a dork. Henry caught his eye, surprised at first, before suddenly grabbing her hand and walking in the opposite direction from Vlad.

He was going to extreme measures to ignore Vlad and show the whole school that they were no longer friends.

"Hey, Vlad!"

Turning his attention to the person who called out to him, Vlad found one of his newest friends skipping over to his side. Sprat must've eaten more pixie sticks. The guy was practically addicted to them as if they were drugs. "'Sup," smiled Vlad.

Sprat grinned before grabbing Vlad by his arm and dragging him down the hall. "C'mon, before we're late to class again."

….

Staring out of the window next to Vlad's bed, Julian watched as a group of small kids playing hockey in the middle of the street, smiles were on every last one of there faces. It was quiet and it scared him, but he shook those feelings and thoughts away. Vlad would be home soon and so would this Nelly person. But could he wait that long for him to get out of school? Could he handle being alone again?

Exhaling a small breath from his nose, Julian glanced at the open door leading out of the room and spotted his worst nightmare. Pulling back his lips, Julian bared his sharp teeth as he growled at the black cat standing in the doorway staring at him with its head cocked to the side. He hated cats with a passion for they always picked on him back when he lived with Charles.

The cat hissed a few times before darting down the hall somewhere.

_Stupid creature _– thought Julian, lifting his head as he took a few licks of water from the bowl, before he brought his attention back to the window. The children looked so happy to the point it caused a small pang of jealousy. It reminded him he was alone and would always be alone. Vlad and his family were nice, but they would probably never keep a wild animal in there house, tamed or not.

He hated feeling this way, but he had felt this way ever since Charles had been killed in front of him. It was a constant emotion that flowed within him, never leaving. But with Vlad he had totally forgotten that feeling. That boy filled the void within him and he wasn't about to loose him.

Trying to block out the pain, Julian pushed himself up onto all four, and with a small whimper he leapt out the bed. But as soon as his front paws touched the floor Julian fell forward onto his chest. _Life must really have it out for me. _With a slight whimper he stood back up and made his way out the room, placing one paw in front of the other.

Panting, Julian made his way through the doorway and down the hall, only to stop and stare down the stairs with fear in his eyes. Walking on a flat surface proved no problem as long as he took small steps, but he didn't think he could make it down this problem.

Taking a breath, he placed one of his front paws on the step and then the next, but then paused looking back at his bandaged hind legs. How was he supposed to do this with his legs like this? Shaking his head, Julian decided to move his back left paw slowly as he moved his front ones down another step. He thought was doing great as he moved down the steps, but then somewhere along the line he lost his balance causing him to fall straight down the stairs.

Groaning in pain, Julian stared at the door in front of him, which was closed and most likely locked. Now how the hell was he supposed to get out and find Vlad? Nothing seemed to be going his way, actually for years nothing seemed to go his way for a long time.

Curling onto his side in a more comfortable position, Julian allowed himself to whimper in pain and loneliness. It was something he refused to do since he was no longer a house pet but a wolf, a wild animal living on its own. But now it didn't matter. He wanted the loneliness to go away. He wanted to be by Vlad's side. He wanted to be with the boy and feel whole again.

Closing his eyes as he felt them grow damp, he barked out a small cry that was answered with the cat's meow somewhere in the room. The next thing he knew was that the annoying cat was by his side meowing again causing Julian to open his eyes and stare at the feline. It was silent as it stared at him before suddenly lying on the floor and curling up into a ball against Julian's side.

_Maybe this cat has some brain damage or something _– Julian thought as he stared at the feline, but instead of growling or barking at the annoying black cat to move he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, enjoying the cat's company, though he hated to admit it.

….

"I'm home," called Vlad as he pushed open the door with his friends, October and Sprat, right behind him. Instead of being answered with Amenti's meowing or Nelly's smile Vlad was answered by a small snore below his feet. Looking down, he found Amenti and Julian curled together in black balls of fur sleeping. Now this was a sight that caused October to say a small 'Aww' from behind him and a smile to grace his lips.

While Sprat and October were examining the two black animals, crouched over them, Vlad closed the front door and locked it behind him. He then looked back at his two new friends. It had been awhile since he brought anyone over to his house, actually, other than Henry, Joss was the only one he brought. To say the least Vlad was nervous, though he tried not to let it show.

Shaking his head, Vlad smiled, but his smile disappeared when he heard a small growl. He brought his attention back to Julian noticing the wolf was awake and growling. It didn't appear as a warning of some kind more of a purr due to October scratching him behind his ear.

"Alright, alright," said Vlad, crouching low in front of the wolf causing Julian's tail to wag, thumping gently against the floor. "You guys go set up for the project in the living room while I take Jules's back up to my room." He was about to wrap his arms around Julian's torso when the wolf crawled into his lap and rubbed his head against his leg.

Sprat smirked at the scene. "I think he wants to be by his savior's side."

"Yeah, Vlad, don't leave him alone again," said October, now standing with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. Vlad wanted to laugh at them, knowing his friends they just wanted to spend more time with the wolf, but he didn't. He was a little worried about how Julian was feeling, though.

Wrapping his arms around Julian, Vlad climbed to his feet with the black wolf in his arms. He heard Amenti meow a protest below. She must really have taken a liking of being around Julian, though he's a huge animal that would probably eat her. "Let's go in my room, that way we can keep him company."

"Sure thing," replied Sprat, taking Amenti into his arms having the cat hiss for a few seconds before relaxing in the grip of the gothic teen. "Lead the way, oh great and noble prince of the night." October then slapped him in the back of the head before following behind Vlad up the stairs, who was laughing.

Vlad placed Julian down on the bed carefully, pulling the blankets over him, and turned to his friends. He was really nervous now. He never invited a girl into his room before, not even his girlfriend, though she'd been to his house tons of times… with Nelly's watchful eye.

Sprat placed Amenti next to Julian on the bed having the cat curl up next to the wolf with a soft purr. She really did like the wolf. "So how we going to do this crappy project for history?" asked Sprat, dropping his backpack on the floor as he took a seat next to October, who was already seated on the floor with her legs crossed looking through her folder for their project.

Vlad felt that it was strange that he was so worried about Henry and Meredith not being in any his class or his uncle's disappearance that he never noticed that any of the goth kids were in his class. Sprat was in his first hour class and both he and October were in his History and Geometry class. Well, at least he wasn't alone anymore due to everyone leaving him.

"I'd say we look up some things about this guy and write some notes down," answered October, pulling out her laptop. She handed it to Vlad to hold as she pulled out a few more things out of her backpack. She handed Sprat a notebook after opening it to an empty page with a pencil. "Vlad, I want you and Sprat to look up information while I do the poster."

Opening the laptop, Vlad let out a sigh as he took a seat on the edge of his bed having his backpack slide off his shoulder and onto the floor. "So we do most of the work while you color the poster?"

"Yep, so get started," she smiled while she clapped her hands.

Vlad looked over at Sprat who was looking at him as well before they both sighed out. It seemed they both were thinking along the same thought process. Girls could be a lazy bunch when it came to this kind of work. Or maybe it was just October. Meredith never did this to him and besides she was the hardworking type of person.

….

Yawning, Vlad stared at the bright screen of the laptop with one eye open. He hated research work, and what was worse they had to present this damn thing to the whole class. At least one person had to speak, which they voted by doing rock-paper-scissors and the one to be the spokesperson was October. Poor girl. Well, at least it wasn't him. He couldn't take talking in front of a bunch of people about some annoying guy who was known in history for all his wrong doings.

Sprat tossed the notebook and pencil he was using onto the floor beside him. "I can't take much more of this! Are we almost done?"

"We only need three more facts and that's it," answered Vlad as he looked over his shoulder at October who was lying on his bed behind him curdled up by Julian. It was only a quarter past nine and she was already out before they were even done. Good thing the project wasn't due until the day after tomorrow. "You wanna finish this tomorrow?"

"Hell yeah!" Sprat grinned at him. "Now time for a Vlad over stay!"

"What?" Vlad raised one of his eyebrows at the goth boy.

"It means that October and I are going to stay over," Sprat answered, standing up and making his way to the bed. He climbed over October and dropped on his side on the bed. "Night, man."

Vlad sighed as he stood up and kicked off his shoes and socks before he, too, climbed into bed. This was strange beyond words, he had to admit, having two new friends sleeping in his room. But it made him happy, not just having October and Sprat by him but also Julian. The wolf filled the loneliness of loosing Henry, weird as it sounded.

For awhile Vlad stared at the ceiling, but then rolled over onto his side and threw his arm over Julian's torso, his cold skin was touching October's own arm. She didn't seem to notice, or she was too lost in her dreamland to feel anything. With a small smile Vlad allowed the darkness of sleep to take him.

And for once he wasn't scared for the nightmares to come.

….

Blinking, Julian lifted his head before letting a loud yawn escape as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. He didn't remember ever falling asleep, but what surprised him more was that Vlad and his friends, including the stupid cat, were at his side cuddling him. No wonder he wasn't cold anymore. He shouldn't be with all this body heat.

Hearing a small noise near the door, Julian twisted his head to the side to find a woman in the doorway about to turn off the light. She didn't seem to mind the fact that there were two extra people in the room, especially a girl. Or if she did she ignored it.

_This must be Nelly _– thought Julian, letting out a small bark to let the woman know of his presence. She looked at Julian for a brief moment before making her way over to the bed. Kissing Vlad on his forehead, which resulted the boy to stir in his sleep slightly, Nelly pulled the covers over them all. She then kissed Julian as well and then turned to leave, and as she left the room she switched off the light.

Nelly felt warm… she held the warmth of a mother, something Julian hadn't felt since the day he was born. He never knew his mother, though he remembered that she smelled of flowers and moss, but he knew if she were still alive she would have the same warmth as Nelly.

Julian rested his head on Vlad's shoulder, his wet nose brushing against the boy's ear lightly. He was about to fall into the darkness of sleep when he then noticed that Vlad's body shaking and his breathing was heavy and unruly. _Is he having a nightmare?_ Lifting his head, Julian noticed that the boy's face was covered in sweat.

"…stop…" cried Vlad, his fingers knotted tightly in Julian's fur tightened.

Whimpering slightly, Julian closed his eyes and lapped up the sweat on the boy's face with his tongue. He wanted to sooth Vlad; help him fight away the nightmare. Julian couldn't stand to watch him in pain, but he didn't know if there was much a wolf, an animal, could do for him.

Vlad opened his eyes, pain and fear visible within the grey orbs. "Julian?" he questioned in a rasped voice. It seemed the only answer he needed was Julian's nose to brush against his cheek before he buried his face in the wolf's shoulder. He was still shaking, and it wrenched at Julian's heart.

"Ah, jeez, and here I thought that if I was surrounded by people these damn dreams would go away," sighed the boy, chuckling, though it was a shaky laugh. "Guess I was wrong." The answer he got was a small bark and a lick from Julian as his tail thumped against the bed.

"Thanks I needed that," Vlad smiled at Julian causing the wolf to have his tongue loll out in a wolfish grin.

If only he was able to speak to the boy then maybe he would've been of more help to Vlad, but Julian knew that would never be possible. Why couldn't he be human? Why couldn't he be like Vlad and get to know the boy more, be more of a friend to him?

Shaking his head, Julian rested his head back on Vlad's shoulder when he noticed he was sleeping again, but sleep did not come so easily for the wolf. How could it when he knew that his new friend, his master, would once again need his help. _If only I was human then maybe things would've been different._ But he couldn't help but wonder if he was human would he have had the opportunity to meet Charles and Vlad and his friends and Nelly? Would things have been different for him?

Once he made sure that Vlad was okay, Julian then allowed sleep to take him as well, but in his dreams he pictured himself as a human being able to be with Vlad in ways that a wolf couldn't, like hanging out and laughing and talking. All of the things he could think of that he would never be able to do with Vlad.

* * *

**The End**


	3. School trip

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the characters of this series, but I do have ownership over at least two characters that are introduced in this chapter, Julian and his human master

**Warning**: there is a lot of language and violence, and there may be some missed spelled words and context

* * *

_**Chapter Three: School trip **_

* * *

Snapping his head up with his eyes wide open, Julian found himself staring up at a white ceiling as he tried to slow his uneven breathing and organize his thoughts. He just had another dream of some kind, he was sure of it. But he couldn't remember it. The only thing he could recall from the dream was a hazy mist of red that smelled like a blood and someone calling out to him. Charles? He doubted it.

He then rolled back over onto his stomach, causing Vlad to shift slightly in his sleep. Julian shook his head, trying to clear it of all thoughts, before slipping out from under Vlad and October's arm. Trying to get his limps to move from their comfortable warmth of the bed, Julian managed to push himself into a sitting position before slowly climbing up to his feet.

_Strange… it feels as if the pain in my legs has disappeared _– thought Julian as he stretched the upper half of his body, yawning, letting his tongue loll out of his mouth. After he shook his body, ruffling his tangled, soft black coat of fur, he leapt down from the bed and onto his paws, barley feeling any pain in his back legs at all.

Julian pushed the bedroom door open with his nose and made his way down the small hallway, or to more precise small library area, before stopping at the top of the stairs. Though his legs were healed, or at least they felt like they were, he wasn't so sure he could make it down the stairs.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it through his nose, he placed one of his front paws on the first step and then the next, he kept moving one paw in front of the other as he made his way down the stairs until he reached the floor below. _I did it! I really did it_, he barked, making his way to the kitchen, which was filled with the rich fragrance of food.

Padding his way into the kitchen, Julian was greeted with the delicious smell of beacon, eggs, and toast, and just like last he noticed another scent mixed in that smelled an awfully lot like blood. Did someone hurt themselves? He shook that thought out of his mind as he butt his head against Nelly's leg as she continued to make stir something in the pan on the stove.

Smiling, the young woman turned her attention to Julian. "Hey there," she cooed, scratching behind his ear causing the black wolf's tail to happily sway behind him as he allowed his tongue to loll out to the side in a grin. "I bet you're hungry, huh?"

Julian sat back on his hunches and barked out an agreement, his tail thumping loudly against the floor. He then looked over his shoulder, not noticing Nelly rummage through a cabinet, and found Vlad and his two friends racing into the kitchen. Julian noticed that Sprat was wearing a different pair of black clothing than he had on yesterday, while Vlad and October still wore the same.

"Looks like everyone's up due to the smell of food," smiled Nelly, pulling out a medium seized bag of dog food from the cabinet before closing its door. Julian jumped up onto his hind legs, placing his front paws on the counter, and snatched a small piece of beacon off the plate. He loved Nelly's beacon, it tasted as good as Charles's.

He barked a few times just before Nelly wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him gently away from the counter, being mindful of his 'hurt' legs. She placed him down on all fours as he whimpered. He was hungry, couldn't she at least bend the rules at best. Charles fed him people food before, so why couldn't he eat at least one or two pieces of beacon?

"No," answered Nelly, placing her hands on her hips as she stared down at Julian from behind her glasses. "I have a bowl of dog food for you over there in the corner." She pointed off to the side and following the direction of her finger Julian found a bowl of dog food with a bowl of water right next to it in a corner.

He looked back at Nelly as she placed some plates on the table in front of each person, handing Vlad a glass cup of red juice and the other two a glass of orange juice. Julian stared at the cup of red liquid as Vlad chugged its contents down, snatching a piece of beacon from Sprats plate before tossing it over by Julian's front paws. But he ignored the freshly cooked meat.

His eyes were trained on Vlad and nothing else. _I could've sworn that liquid in Vlad's cup smelt like blood. _Though he couldn't be sure, Julian knew that smell well. It was in his animal instincts to know the smell of blood. Maybe it was his imagination, but Julian doubted it.

Shaking his head, he took the piece of beacon off the floor and swallowed it in one bite before making his way over to his bowl of dog food. Come to think of it, though he felt this connection with Vlad, he knew nothing about the boy. For all he knew Vlad could very well be one of those bloodsuckers that have chased him down for four years, trying to kill him.

Glancing over his shoulder, Julian watched as Vlad made his way out the room followed by his two friends, all laughing and joking around. What was he thinking? There's no way Vlad was one of those things. Even if he was he was different from them. He had saved Julian's life instead of trying to end it.

He was the young wolf's savior, and now his new friend.

Barking playfully, Julian followed after Vlad, finding the boy by the front door with his two friends. He butt his wet nose lightly against the boy's hand before licking at the tips of his fingers. Vlad pulled his hand back a bit, still keeping his eyes on his two friends.

October threw her backpack over her shoulder. "Well, we have to head home since school starts in two hours and we didn't… or at least I didn't bring any clothes." She glared at Sprat, who was grinning pulling something out of his pocket that smelt sweet like candy.

"I had everything planned out," grinned Sprat.

"Planned my ass."

October scoffed in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest as she continued to glare at Sprat. She glanced at Vlad, smiling briefly as she said her goodbyes, and opened the door. "See you guys in class," she called over her shoulder before closing the door behind her.

"I gotta go too, see ya later, man," grinned Sprat before he, too, left out the door, closing it behind it him. _Weren't friends suppose to go to school together?_ Or maybe he was just thinking too much. People who were close didn't have to be together all the time. Julian turned his head slightly and watched as Vlad made his way back up the stairs to his room, most likely to get ready for school.

He barked at the boy to get his attention, which seemed to work for the boy turned slightly to look at him with a smile on his face. He waved at the wolf before continuing his decent up the stairs. Julian sat back on his hunches, waiting for Vlad to return, even though he knew it might be awhile.

He had to admit, though the boy was tired due to lack of sleep, he was strong. Vlad's dreams were plagued with nightmares of some kind, but even so he was having fun with his friends and now getting ready for school, acting as if none of that had happened last night. Or he was just trying to forget all about the dreams.

_If only I were human _– thought Julian, dropping his upper body down on the floor, laying his head between his two front paws as he blew a puff of air out of his nose. If he were human like those two, Sprat and October, then he would be able to help Vlad a whole hell of a lot more than he could being a wolf. But even if he could turn to a human what if Vlad didn't want his help or wouldn't acknowledge him, he would be a stranger, after all.

Humans were lucky, admitted Julian, staring at the closed door in front of him. He then perked his head up when he saw Nelly by his side calling up the stairs toward Vlad that she had to go to work early. She smiled at Julian and said her goodbyes, kissing him on his head, before she made her way out the door.

_Great, now I'll be stuck with that idiot cat _– he growled in his thoughts, climbing up onto his paws, and made his way into the living room. He hated cats, but Vlad's cat, Amenti, seemed to be attached to him, or she just loved the warmth. Speaking of that cat, Julian glared at the feline curled up into a ball on the couch, near the arm of it. Great, now he needed to find another place to sleep.

He then looked over his shoulder and noticed Vlad by the door, rummaging through his backpack, making sure he got everything. Julian found that the boy wore nothing but black over black. Black was his favorite color also, but Julian didn't know the boy had shared his taste. Then again having a pelt of pure black helped in that category, he loved his fur coat.

Zipping his backpack up, Vlad tossed it over his shoulder by one strap and opened the front door. "Be good while I'm gone, okay?" he said, turning to Julian with a smile. The wolf tilted his head to the side, wagging his tail. Vlad chuckled at the response and shut the door behind him, locking it.

_Now what the hell am I suppose to do for nine hours? _– he sighed in his thoughts, dropping to his hunches, but his boredom didn't last long when an idea appeared to the forefront of his mind. The wolf rushed over to the front door and examined the lock, wondering how he should open it. If he were human he would just did what everyone else did, but he's not.

Jumping up onto his hind legs, Julian placing his front paws on the front door, wrapping his teeth around the lock and twisting it to the side, like he saw Nelly do earlier. He then heard the click announcing the door was unlocked. Now the problem relied with how to open the door.

….

Sighing, Vlad dropped in his seat next to Sprat, who appeared hyper off of his pixie sticks. He really wished he could've had this class near the end of the day instead of first thing in the morning, seeing too much nakedness wasn't good for his body, or his mind. But then if he did have this class later he would be alone again, that was something he didn't want.

"Soooo… are you guys going to keep Julian or what?" asked Sprat suddenly, turning sideways in his seat, his leg bouncing up and down slightly. Yup, he had his pixie sticks.

"Who knows, but I believe we might end up keeping him," answered Vlad, resting his forehead against the cool surface of his desk. "Nelly already treats him like he's part of the family and plus I think he likes it there with us. I mean… well, he doesn't seem to hate us or anything."

Sprat tapped the eraser to his mechanical pencil against his chin, as if he was real focused on thinking, but Vlad knew better than to believe that. He chuckled slightly, and just when Sprat opened his mouth to speak the bell rung, announcing class had started.

Sprat sat straight in his chair, facing forward slightly, while his body still faced Vlad's, Vlad however just stared at his teacher as if he were bored, leaning his cheek against his knuckles, his elbow resting on the flat surface of his desk as he slouched forward in his seat. He just couldn't believe how stupid or immature his classmates were as he watched them ask question after question.

Everyone knew the answer to the questions had something to do with gonads, but in order to hear the teacher stammer, it made Vlad groan as he rolled his eyes. It wasn't really that funny to hear a teacher stumble around with their words, it was actually pretty embarrassing. How were you going to expect the students to say it now without laughing their asses off?

….

Sniffing the ground, Julian made his way through the neighborhood to a large school building. He didn't expect the streets to be so deserted, but it was, and he was glad for that. He didn't want people panicking over a wolf walking the streets as if it were a common stray. Then again, Julian didn't think that would matter much anyway. He was a wild animal, though tamed, and still was considered dangerous.

Julian looked carefully around the parking lot, making sure there were no humans around, and then dashed out from the rusty old truck he was hiding under, making his way up to the front doors of the school. He stared at the doors as he tilted his head to the side. Okay, he got to the school by following Vlad's scent, but now what was he suppose to do?

He didn't think it would be a good idea for a wolf to just walk on in as if he were another student as well, late for his morning classes. This was one of the times being a human would come in handy with, too bad he wasn't one. Pushing the door open lightly with the top of his head, Julian stuck his head into the building.

Julian never been in a school before, but he had to admit the front of the school was pretty huge. _Wonder what the rest of it looks like? _He then shook his head. _No, I gotta focus on finding Vlad! _After making sure the cost was clear Julian pushed his way through the door, and padded down the hall, trying to find Vlad's scent through all the others.

He didn't know why he wanted to follow Vlad, but he just found himself following Vlad's scent. That wasn't the original plan; he was actually planning to explore the surrounding area that was Vlad and Nelly's home. All well, at least he was going to see what school was like for the humans, and he could see Vlad again.

Sticking his head out to look around the corner, Julian found that just down the hall stood a… rat man... he was making his way toward Julian with two young teens behind him – one was a girl and the other was a boy. He then caught the eye of the boy as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. The boy stopped in his tracks, staring eye wide at Julian.

He didn't look scared, just surprise, noted Julian as he felt his tail thumping against the metal wall, the sound echoing around him. But the girl was a different story. She took one look at Julian and… screamed. And boy could she scream. It had not only made Julian flinch, flattening his ears to his head, but the boy too ended up covering his own with his hands as he grimaced. The rat man was a different story.

Julian ducked back down the hall with the strange man following right behind him, yelling at him.

….

Hearing the lunch bell ring, Vlad raised his head from where it lay on his math book, noticing everyone getting up and leaving. He found his two goth friends with Andrew waiting for him by the door. Sighing, he closed his math book and stuffed it in his backpack before tossing it over his shoulder.

"Hurry up, Vlad, or we'll be late meeting Kristoff at his class," called Andrew, leaning his back against the door way, crossing his arms over his chest. "And knowing that dude he'd probably leave without us."

"True," agreed October, twirling a strand of her raven hair around her finger.

Vlad opened his mouth to say something, but Sprat beat him to it by grabbing him by his arm and dragging him out the room passed the other two. Andrew withdrew from the wall, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his tattered black jeans, and followed right behind them with October by his side, hands folded behind her back.

Before he never had lunch with anyone but Henry and Meredith and her best friend Melissa, but now he was having lunch with a whole different crowd. Though they've been hanging out for a few weeks, these things were stuff Vlad was still trying to get use to. He wasn't use to having new friends; he didn't want any, after what had happened with Joss. Joss was Vlad's other best friend, but after getting a stake in the heart it left Vlad with trust issues about people.

But these guys, though Kristoff made it clear he didn't really care much for his presence, were different. Or at least Vlad hoped they were. He didn't want to get another stake through the heart; the first time was painful enough. But after hanging out with them for awhile Vlad knew he could trust them. Maybe he could trust them enough to go that gothic club The Crypt which they invited him to before that is if Nelly let him.

Vlad pulled to a stop at the entrance to the cafeteria, catching sight of Henry taking a seat at the popular table by some guy Vlad never seen before. He wished things could go back to the way it used to be, but he knew it wouldn't, at least not with Henry hating his guts.

Shaking his head, Vlad allowed Sprat to drag him over to their table on the far side of the lunch room in a small corner where Kristoff sat eating his lunch. He didn't know why he should care anymore; Henry and him were no longer friends. he had the goths and he also had Julian, though he was an animal that wouldn't be able to understand a lot of things.

_Man, I must be really lonely_ – thought Vlad, taking his seat across from Kristoff with Sprat taking a seat next to him, while October and Andrew sat on the other side of the table with Kristoff. He was a real mess without Henry. Okay, maybe not a real mess but somewhere along those lines.

"Hey, Vlad is it true?" asked Andrew suddenly, around a fry in his mouth.

Vlad raised a brow at the goth in confusion as he watched him steal another fry from Kristoff's tray. "Is what true?" he questioned the goth as he also took a fry from Kristoff's tray, which had the silver haired teen glare at him. If only he had his special 'ketchup' it would taste so much better than having it plain.

Sprat grinned leaning over for a fry as well, nearly getting his hand stabbed by a fork courtesy of the silver haired goth. "October was just telling him about that wolf you and your aunt took in," he answered, popping the fry in his mouth. He then reached for another, but got his hand smacked by Kristoff.

"Get your own food!"

"Fine," stated Sprat with a frown, placing his hands on the table as he pushed himself up out of his seat. He then made his way to the lunch line, crossing his arms. Vlad would've gone with him if it weren't for the fact that everyone was now staring at him, waiting for him to answer.

Sighing, Vlad combed his hair back out of his face with his hand. He really didn't feel like talking about this right now when he could feel Henry's gaze on him from across the lunch room, and not just his but also Meredith's. She was probably upset for him avoiding her for the last few weeks. Henry… well, Vlad didn't know what was wrong with him. He just suddenly started acting like this.

_Well, I might as well get this over with_ – Vlad sighed in his thoughts, opening his mouth to speak. But before he could get the words out he suddenly heard a few students start to scream and the annoying voice of Snelgrove. Glancing over his shoulder, Vlad found the high school principle fall flat on his face and Julian weaving in and out of the legs of the people near by, trying to get out of Snelgrove's reach.

"Julian?" questioned Vlad, rising to his feet.

The wolf seemed to spot because he started barking, his tail wagging happily behind him, and dashed his way over to his table. Julian leapt up over a table, knocking a few trays over, and fell into Vlad having him fall to the floor. Julian continued to lick the mess out of Vlad's face as Vlad groaned in pain.

Opening one of his eyes, Vlad found the wolf now laying his down on his shoulder, tail still swaying side to side in an excited manner. He heard the giggling voice of October and Sprat, who had come back from the lunch line with a tray in his hand. "Yeah, I missed you too," grinned Vlad, patting Julian on his head.

"So this is Julian?" asked Andrew, leaning over the table along with Kristoff, staring at the scene before them with slight interest and surprise. "Yeah, and he's totally in love with Vlad," giggled October.

Vlad glared at them for a brief moment before turning his attention to the principle making his way over to them, his little mouse nose twitching. Great, now he was going to get a huge scolding from the rodent man. That was something he really didn't need at the moment, especially when he was hungry.

"Mr. Tod is this animal yours?"

"Umm… I…" Vlad laughed nervously as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Julian wasn't exactly his pet, though he really wished the wolf was. Nelly probably wouldn't mind if they kept him. But she still hadn't decided whether too or not. So of course Vlad had no idea how to answer that question. "Well, you see, sir…"

….

_Seriously, what was up with the strange dog? _– thought Henry, his eyes trained on the huge black animal in Vlad's arms. The thing was so huge Henry was having a hard time believing that Vlad was able to carry that thing as he followed Snelgrove out of the cafeteria. But there he was with one arm around the dog's torso while the other supported its weight.

"I wonder when that loser got a dog?" giggled Chelsea, gaining more laughter among the table of populars. Their laughter had anger start boil in Henry veins. He hated when people laughed at his best friend, no matter who it was. But his anger quickly turned to guilt.

Vlad was no longer his best friend, he severed that link between him and the half-vampire after he told Vlad that he had more in common with these people then he did with him. Now Vlad had new friends, people he seemed to be able to get along with a lot better than him. Vlad no longer needed him. He was easily replaced in just a few months.

Then he shook his head and sat back down. What the hell was he talking about? Vlad brought this whole thing upon himself always ordering him around, not giving him a chance. He had other friends too, who needed Vlad.

He did, though he hated to admit it, even unconsciously.

….

_Maybe I didn't think this out well enough…_

Julian watched as the rat man was pacing back and forth behind his desk with his hands folded behind his back as he sat back on his hunches next to Vlad, who sat in a wooden chair in a slouched position, arm thrown across the back. He appeared relaxed, but Julian could tell otherwise. He was nervous with small beads of sweat pooling on his upper brow and his eyes filled with panic. Was this rat man supposed to be scary?

_Hey, Vlad,_ whimpered Julian as he butt his head against Vlad's leg, trying to get the boy's attention. Vlad looked down at him, raising a brow in question as Julian stared up at him with his tongue lolled out in a wolfish grin. _Don't worry so much about this rat man he can't hurt while him here. _He didn't know if Vlad would get his message or not, but the boy seemed to because he calmed down and smiled at him.

"…and I can't believe you would bring… Mr. Tod!" yelled rat man, glaring at Vlad, which caused Julian's fur to stand on end and a growl to rumble in his throat. He didn't like this man talking to Vlad in such a way, even if he was an adult.

Vlad turned his attention to the man behind the desk as he smiled sheepishly at him. "Yes, sir?" Julian wanted to laugh at how Vlad had said that. He sounded as if he were an innocent child, too bad he didn't have that kind of charm because the rat man's left brow twitched with annoyance.

The man cleared his throat, his squinty eyes trained on Julian. "Well, since you were obviously not paying any attention to a word I said, I'll cut to the chase. You will be serving a detention later after school and you'll be writing an apology letter, also I'll be notifying your guardian of this. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," groaned Vlad, tilting his head back a bit.

Julian didn't know what a detention was, but he could tell Vlad didn't seem too happy about it. _This is all my fault_, whimpered Julian, laying his head on Vlad's leg, watching as the rat man picked up the phone on his desk, dialing a number.

"Hello?" questioned the rat man into the phone. "Ah, yes, I'm calling to let you know about Vladimir Tod." He waited a bit, and Julian thought he heard Nelly's voice through the device telling him something. "Oh, no, he didn't get into any fights today. It's just he brought a some type of dog here… yes…yes…"

Feeling a hand comb through his tangled mess of black fur, Julian turned his head slightly to look at Vlad finding the boy looking right at him with a small smile gracing his lips. Then suddenly rat man placed the phone down and snapped his eyes to Vlad.

"You can go back to class," he stated. "But the dog stays in my office until school lets out."

"Yes, sir," sighed Vlad, pushing up out of his seat and headed for the door to the office, but before he left he looked over his shoulder at Julian with a smile gracing his lips. "Jules, I need you to stay here for a bit, alright?" Julian didn't answer he just tilted his head to the side, his tail swaying behind in a slow motion.

Glancing over his shoulder, Julian found that rat man was now seated in the chair at his desk his chin leaning on his folded hands as his elbows rested on the desk with his squinty rat trained on Julian._ This guy's not just a rat in human form he's also a creeper._ He wished Vlad would return quickly. He didn't know how long he could sit here with this rat's eyes constantly staring at him.

_Someone please save me!_

* * *

**The End**


	4. Wolf turned human?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own the characters of this series, but I do have ownership over at least two characters that are introduced in this chapter, a wolf named Julian and his human master

**Warning**: there is a lot of language and violence, and there may be some missed spelled words and context

**A/N:** I don't know if I'm going to leave this chapter this way or not, so just let me know what you think if its good I'll leave it and continue with the story if not… well, I'll change it.

* * *

_**Chapter Four: Wolf turned human?**_

* * *

Laying his head down on the floor, Julian's eyes darted every so often to the door that was just a few inches away. If he could just get through that door he would run to freedom, but… he moved his head slightly, tugging on the rope that was attached to his collar. He glared over his shoulder at the rat man over at his desk, who had tied the end of the rope to his desk chair.

He really wanted to leave, but there was no way he could.

Hearing the door to the office open, Julian lifted his head and found a woman entering the room. She appeared frantic and nervous, noted Julian as she made her way further into the room.

"Mr. Snelgrove, I came to let you know that a fight just broke out between two students down the hall," she said, and before anything else could be said the rat man known as Snelgrove stood from his chair and stalked out of his office with the woman following right behind him.

_Now's my chance!_ – cheered Julian in his thoughts, pulling at the rope as he tried to get free. He hated being on a short leash, and this was an understatement for _short_ leash. This rope was small, but Julian had to admit it was thick and got the job done. Or so the old rat man thought, smirked Julian as he finally slipped his head through it.

Shaking his head, Julian's sky-blue eyes scanned his surrounding area only to notice that the door to the office was still open. Rolling his eyes, Julian padded his way across the room, being wary of any surrounding humans in the next room. He just couldn't believe that rat man was stupid enough to leave his door open, but Julian wasn't about to complain he was free and about to get the hell out of this place.

_Sorry, Vlad, I can't stay here and wait for you _– he thought as he pushed open the door that lead out to the open hallway filled with students cheering and teachers trying to break through the circle of teens, even the rat man seemed to have no power at the moment. _Must be the fight that woman was talking about._

Without a second thought, Julian raced down the opposite end of the hall, hoping he was heading the right way. He really wanted to wait for Vlad, but he… he shivered at the thought of having rat man's eyes trained on him constantly. Now he knew what it was like being under a microscope.

Sticking his head out to look around the corner, Julian looked carefully down the hall, making sure there were no humans wondering about, and then dashed down the empty hall. He made his way through the maze known as school until finally he reached the front doors of the building.

Hearing a strange sound, he looked over his shoulder to a security guard sitting at a near by desk, sleeping with a cookie in his mouth. How did he not see this guy when coming into the building? That loud snoring was a dead giveaway, unless he wasn't there before.

_All well _– thought Julian, shrugging his shoulders before grabbing the handle to the nearest door between his teeth, pulling with all his jaw might to open it. After pulling the door out far enough, Julian dashed his way through before the door had time to shut back on him, and padded his way down the front step.

He didn't expect school to be so scary, full of all kinds of humans, but it turned out whatever he was expecting at first turned out to be wrong. That rat man… he just hoped Vlad didn't get into any real trouble with him because of him.

Julian ducked down the street, deciding to explore other places. But he didn't get far when he ended up colliding with something small and soft that smelled sweet like candy.

Shaking his head, Julian soon found himself staring into the eyes of a young boy about the age of six or seven. The boy blinked a few times as if trying to recollect his bearings before suddenly throwing his small arms around the wolf in a hug. "I found a doggy!"

_Eh? Did I miss something? _– thought Julian as he stared at the child from the corner of his eye as the boy buried his face in the fur on Julian's shoulder. He blinked a few times in confusion before pulling back from the young child's grip. It had been a long time since someone had touched him in such a way. Not even Vlad did that, so of course the wolf wouldn't be use to it.

"Will doggy play with me? I don't have any one to play with right now," explained the boy as he grinned at Julian, who just continued to stare at him. Not waiting for the wolf to reply, he wrapped his small fingers around Julian's collar and tugged him along down the street.

_Hey, brat, that hurts! That's not to be tugged on like that! _– Julian yelled franticly in his mind as he shook his head, trying to break free. However, his efforts were fruitless for the boy's grip didn't loosen. The boy then suddenly released his collar when they stopped in front of a house, the sandbox in the front yard filled with toys.

The boy grinned at Julian before skipping over to the sandbox. "Come on, let's play!" he called to Julian who took to sitting back on his hunches as he watched to boy grab a toy truck from the sand. He appeared to be happy, with life and curiosity filling his brown eyes. He seemed fine, so why wasn't he in school like all children should be.

He then shook that thought away, it wasn't any of his business if this kid went to school or not. But all thoughts in his mind quickly flew out the window when he felt something suddenly pulling on his fur, climbing up onto his back. _Och_, he yelped, trying to find the source of his pain only to find the boy resting his chin on his left shoulder as he grinned at him, knots of his black fur in his small hands.

Julian pushed himself up onto his feet and growled as he shook his body, trying to get the child off of him. He even resulted in running around in a circle. But still the child did not let go, instead it made the young child burst into laughter.

"Let's go faster! Faster!" he squealed, wrapping his small arms around his neck. _Alright then, faster we shall go! _Julian then stared to jump around in circles, bucking like an angered horse as he began to howl his delight despite himself. He felt a slight jolt of pain in his legs, but he barely took any notice to it as he twisted and leapt while he continued to howl, delighted that he was able to make the boy on his back squeal with laughter.

But soon he lost his balance, tripping over a toy car on the ground, and fell flat on his chest. He lay there after a few minutes, panting for breath before pushing his body up into a sitting position, wincing slightly due to the pain in his back legs. Though his legs had been fine all day, he really shouldn't have done that. He was still healing, after all.

"Doggy?" questioned Julian's little rider as he climbed off of the wolf, marching in front of him to stare into Julia's face as if trying to figure out what was wrong. "Did you hurt yourself because of me?" he pouted, his eyes filled with worry.

Julian quickly pulled his head back further, giving space between the two. He stared into the child's worried, brown eyes that seemed to have the power to freeze time. Or at least that's what it felt like to Julian for he couldn't seem to focus on anything other than those eyes that reminded him so much of someone he once knew, someone he had met long before Charles.

But… who?

"Doggy!" yelled the boy, tugging on one of Julian's ear, which had the wolf yelp. He shook his head, pulling away from the boy's grasp and glared at the young child. He hated having his ears pulled, it was painful, but for some reason he couldn't stay mad at that boy's smiling face. "Don't just space out like that!"

_Not my fault _– thought Julian, brushing his wet nose against the boy's cheek, which resulted in the boy to giggle. He didn't know why this boy reminded him of someone, but he knew that those eyes were familiar. Those eyes were always staring at him with such love and care, almost like a mother. Maybe that person was his mother. But he doubted it. That person was human while he was an animal.

"Christopher?" gasped a feminine voice a few feet away from them.

"Mommy, you're back home!" yelled the now dubbed Christopher, jumping up to his feet into the waiting woman's arms. Standing next to the woman was a young man who Julian assumed was the boy's father since he had the same brown eyes as the boy.

"Didn't I tell you to stay inside? What if you ended up getting hurt?" scolded the woman, holding the boy's shoulders in a tight grip as she stared into his eyes with worry and fear.

Christopher hung his head, ashamed, before he pulled away from his mother's grasp and wrapped his arms around Julian's neck in a hug. "But it was okay! I didn't do anything to ruin my health and plus doggy here was playing with me!"

"Doggy?" questioned the father.

Christopher nodded his head excitedly and buried his face in Julian's shoulder, oblivious to the fact that the blood had drained from his parents' faces when they saw the wolf. Julian took one look at the parents before shaking his head and barked at them causing the two adults to flinch.

"Christopher dear, come over here," said the boy's mother slowly, not taking her eyes off of Julian, who stared at them as if he were curious. When Christopher didn't obey his father added in a more forceful tone, "Chris, get away from the wolf… now."

"But why?" asked the boy, pulling away from Julian to stare at his parents. "Doggy won't hurt you. He's very nice. He even let me ride on him." But even as he said this he moved away from Julian and walked over to his parents. His mother immediately wrapped her arms around him again, trying to both comfort and restrain the child.

"That _doggy_ of yours is a wild animal. He could have hurt you," said the father, still watching Julian as he pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket, flipping it open.

"Doggy wouldn't do that! He's very nice and my friend!"

Julian tilted his head to the side, watching as the father dialed a number into his phone. "I'm calling the police right now. They should send someone out here to take care of him soon." And as the father said this the mother tried to explain to Christopher that Julian was a wild animal and could've hurt him causing the boy to stare at Julian with wide eyes, though not of fear.

_I'm not some wild animal… I'm at least house trained, assholes _– barked Julian, his tail thrashing around behind him in irritation. He glared at the two humans before turning his gaze to the small child who was staring at him with wide eyes filled with wanting. Well, at least he wasn't scared of him even after all that his mother had said. He barked at the boy causing the boy to smile, stretching out his arms toward him.

_Sorry, kid _– thought Julian, tilting his head to the side before climbing up onto all four of his paws, and with a bark he looped around to the backyard and over the fence. He landed on the other side in an alley, still hearing the child crying for his _doggy_. But he wasn't about to stop and turn back around, not when that man was calling someone to 'take care' of him.

….

Standing from his seat as he heard the bell ring announcing the end of the day, Vlad threw the strap of his backpack over his shoulder with one hand as he made his way out the classroom. There at the door waiting for him were his goth friends, including Kristoff who glared at Vlad as he leaned back against the wall, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans.

_I wonder if I'll ever get use to this whole thing_ – he wondered, smiling at his friends before they made their way down the hall, following behind Sprat who was practically skipping in his step. Henry never waited for him outside the classroom at the end of the day or for lunch. But these guys were different, they stuck to him. Well, that's what friends do, he noted, dodging Kristoff's fist, which was meant for Andrew and missed.

Laughing, Vlad watched as Kristoff pulled Andrew into a headlock and rubbed his fist into the top of the raccoon eyed boy's skull. "See how's that for fun, huh!" October giggled as she tried to pull the two boy's apart by herself, while Vlad and Sprat stood off on the sidelines continuing to laugh.

But Vlad's laughter was cut short when he felt s rough hand grab him by the back of his shirt collar, along with the smell of cheese. "And where do you think you're going, Mr. Tod?" questioned a rough and annoying voice near his ear. That voice could only belong to one person, admitted Vlad.

Glancing over his shoulder, Vlad found himself staring into the principle's mouse twitching face. "Yes, sir?" he questioned, noticing Snelgrove glaring at his friends. "I thought I told you have a detention after school?" stated the mouse as his nose twitched with irritation, or maybe he smelled cheese near by.

"Yeah, you did," said Vlad, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as Snelgrove released him. "But I just thought since I'm busy and all that I could just pick up Julian and go on…" Vlad's voice then trailed off when he noticed Snelgrove's expression change from his usual scowl. "What?"

"That dog of yours…" Snelgrove turned his eyes away off somewhere else, as if he couldn't stand to look at Vlad, and cleared his throat. "Well… I don't really know what happened to him, but he suddenly disappeared by the time I was able to return to my office. I already called your aunt about– where do you think you are going!"

Vlad didn't know what had taken over his body, but after he had heard those words the next thing he knew he was racing down the hall, and out of the school building. His friends were right behind him, calling him, he even heard Kristoff's voice calling out his name, but he didn't stop. He kept going. He even slid over the hood of a car, nearly knocking the person by it down, and jumped over the near by bushes.

"Sorry," he called over his shoulder, not really realizing the person he said that to was Henry who was with his group of friends as he made his way across the street. He didn't really care at that moment. All he knew was he had to find Julian. He didn't even stop running when he heard his cell phone ringing in his pocket (a gift he got from October a few weeks ago).

He pulled the phone out of his back pocket, twisting around a car so it wouldn't run him over, and put it to his ear after he pressed the answer button. "Yeah?" he answered, his voice nearly out of breath.

"Vlad? Sweetie, are you alright?" It was Nelly and she sounded about as frantic as Vlad was at that moment. "Vlad, I'm calling to let you know that I heard some people have spotted Julian wondering around the neighborhood near by your school. So he couldn't have gone too far, and I'm looking, too, so–"

"Thanks, Nelly!"

….

Sniffing at the ground lightly, Julian made his way down some strange very dark street, panting slightly from exhaustion. He had no idea where he was or how to get back home to where Vlad was, but right then at that moment all he wanted to do was find somewhere to sleep. If only he didn't decide to leave the house, then maybe he wouldn't be stuck with rat man or lost. But he had to admit meeting that boy Christopher was actually one of the things he loved.

He was about halfway down the street when he smelt something off… something dark making its way toward him. He didn't want to pay it any attention, but he had to no matter how tired he was. If it was another one of those bloodsuckers then he had to try and defend himself. Otherwise it would kill him.

Just as Julian looked back over his shoulder and found a dark figure running at him, and suddenly with a blink of an eye it was gone. Did he just imagine that? He doubted it though. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to continue his track, trying to find his way back home, though it was hard with all the different smells. But just as he turned his head back he found himself staring into the face of the same bloodsucker who had broken his legs just a few days ago.

The bloodsucker was dressed differently; instead of the black trench coat he now wore a black tank-top with his normal black clothing. But there was still that smirk revealing his fangs that sent a shiver of fear down his spine.

"Well, nice to see you again, little shapeshifter," chuckled the beast in human form as he stood from his crouching position, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his tattered black jeans. He stared down at Julian with his eyes full of hunger.

The two stared each other down for a while, one with a look of hunger while the other with a look of fear, waiting for the other to make the first move. Julian knew if he were to run this guy would catch him in no time at all and most likely kill him. He had no choice but to stand his ground. Deciding to be the first to attack, Julian dropped his upper body to the ground, aiming his attack for the bloodsucker's neck.

Julian lunged forward his jaws wide open and teeth bared, but before he even had a chance to attack he found himself flat on his back on the ground. He rolled over on his stomach to find that the bloodsucker was still standing in the same spot. He then realized that he had been smack aside as if he were nothing by this bloodsucker.

Shaking his head, trying to clear it, he pushed himself up onto his feet and tried again, aiming straight for the bloodsucker's throat. But once again Julian found himself on his back, only this time the bloodsucker was crouched over his form, his slender fingers wrapped around his his neck, crushing his windpipe.

Julian begun to scratch at the creature's hand, hoping to get free, but all it resulted in was the creature's grip to tighten. He was planning to suffocate him or crush his windpipe, which ever came first, noted Julian, tears stinging his eyes. He then noticed his lungs were starting to burn, and he was staring to see black dots in his vision.

Come to think of it, his whole body felt as if it were on fire, but that feeling quickly faded away.

Grinding his teeth together, Julian mustered all the strength he could in his back legs and kicked his heels in the bloodsucker's stomach having him stumble back, wrapping his arms protectively around his stomach. The beast in human form glared at him for a brief moment before his eyes suddenly widened with shock.

Coughing, Julian pushed himself into a crouching position as he bared his teeth at the beast in front of him. "Why the hell are you attacking me?" he growled, his voice hoarse and strained. And that's when it hit him… he could speak the human language? When did that happen?

"Huh?" he questioned, bringing his front paws in front of his face and… hands? He had hands? How the hell did that happen? Did he turn into a human? Pushing himself up onto his feet, Julian looked down at himself and found he was in the body of a human boy. "I really am a human… but how?"

He then turned his attention back to the beast in front of him staring at him, his eyes now filled with amusement, before suddenly he threw his head back laughing. His fangs shining in the moonlight. Julian watched as the bloodsucker continued to laugh with confusion. He didn't understand a single thing that was going on. How he was in the body of a naked body of a human boy or how he was able to speak the language of the humans? None of it.

Julian was about to part his lips to speak, but before he could the bloodsucker had him by the throat again, only this time his fingers fit more perfectly. Suddenly, Julian felt the wind blow through his unruly dark hair as he was tossed aside like a rag doll, his back landing into a near by street poll.

_This body sure is hard to control _– thought Julian as he tried to climb to his feet, but he couldn't move. His body was hurting too much for him to move, and pain pulsed through his _human_ legs. He looked over toward the bloodsucker, straight into his dark eyes which were filled with hunger as he made his way over to Julian.

The beast raised his right leg into the air as he smirked before bringing his foot down, slamming it into Julian's bare chest. Julian felt a few cracks in his ribs and bared his teeth against the pain. He then grabbed the bloodsucker by his ankle and... Julian wasn't really all to sure how he was able to do it, but he twisted the creature's ankle. He heard an audible crack indicating it was broken.

The bloodsucker bared his fangs at Julian as he leapt back from the wolf now human. "Hmm… so even in your human form you still posses the strength of a beast," stated the bloodsucker, examining his foot that was now angled in a different direction than what it was suppose to be.

Julian pushed himself up to his feet and stared at the bloodsucker as if he had never seen him before. He was in a human body, though he had no idea how, so then… how was he able to emanate a power like that? Weren't humans weak and powerless? But that thought didn't last long when he noticed the bloodsucker snap the bones in his foot back in place before suddenly charging right at him in a blinding speed.

Julian only had time to blink before he found himself being lifted into the air by his neck. The bloodsucker had grabbed him by the throat and was now holding him about a foot off the ground, his grip tightening around Julian's neck. Julian could feel something sharp dig into his skin, drawing blood and he tried to scream. But all he could do was open his mouth releasing a silent cry.

Julian then noticed that the beast was smirking, eyes trained on the blood flowing down his neck and shoulders, and bared his fangs that were dripping with saliva. _No… please no! _Julian closed his eyes tightly as he felt the bloodsucker move closer.

"_Remember, Julian, when you are ever in any danger, fighting against a beast that isn't human, then aim for the heart." _

Julian's eyes snapped open when he felt something warm coat his right hand and found himself staring into the bloodsuckers wide eyes. His eyes were so wide they were like those flying saucers in those cartoon shows Julian used to lay around and watch when he was a pup.

He then brought his attention lower and found that his hand had pierced through the beast's chest, his hand wrapped around something beating and full of warmth. His heart, wondered Julian, tightening his grip on the object noticing the beast howling in pain.

Blood was flowing from the creature's mouth and chest, soaking his black tank top. Julian didn't know how he knew this, but he knew that if he pulled his hand out, leaving the heart in the beast he would heal, slowly but surely. He had to deliver the final blow.

Julian blinked, turning his attention back to his hand in the beast's chest, noticing the blood flow had lesson a bit. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he closed his eyes tightly, and squeezed his hand around the organ. The bloodsucker howled again, struggling to get free. But it was too late. Julian had crushed his heart, and the next thing Julian knew the pressure on his throat was gone and his bare feet were against the cold cement.

Opening one of his eyes, he found the bloodsucker was gone. "Wha–" questioned Julian, until he found a pile of ash near his big toe along with the clothes the bloodsucker was wearing. "I… killed him…?" He brought his blood coated hand to his face and found pieces of red flesh under his nails.

Hearing the clattering voices of humans and people opening the doors to their homes, Julian decided it was time to make his escape. He grabbed the clothes off of the ground and dashed as fast as his human legs could allow down the street. He just hoped he was going the right way.

* * *

**The End**


End file.
